Blindsight

by Rosmarie Waldrop

The latest book of prose poems by one of America's premier philosophical poets. For the title of her newest collection of prose poems, Rosmarie Waldrop adopts a term"blindsight" used by the neuroscientist Antonio R. Damasio to describe a condition in which a person actually sees more than he or she is consciously aware. "This is one reason," explains Waldrop, "for using collage: joining my fragments to other people's fragments in a dialogue, a net relation that might catch a bit more of the 'world.'" The collectionthe author's fourth with New Directionsis divided into four thematic sections. The first, "HÜlderlin Hybrids," resonates against the German poet's twisted syntax, while using rhythmic punctuation in counterpoint to sense. "'As Were,'" says Waldrop, "began with looking at the secondary occupations of artistsfor example, Mallarme teaching English, Montaigne serving as mayor of Bordeauxbut this soon gave way to playing more generally with particular aspects of historical figures." The title section, "Blindsight," is most consistent in its use of collage, juxtaposing words and images to jolting, epiphanic effect. "Cornell Boxes," in contrast, has a formal unity, inspired by the constructions of Joseph Cornell, each prose poem "box" composed in a structure of fours: four paragraphs of four sentences each, with four footnotes.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Rosmarie Waldrop (born August 24, 1935), née Sebald, is a contemporary American poet, translator and publisher. Born in Germany, she has lived in the United States since 1958. She has lived in Providence, Rhode Island since the late 1960s. Waldrop is coeditor and publisher of Burning Deck Press, as well as the author or coauthor (as of 2006) of 17 books of poetry, two novels, and three books of criticism.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be nice to steal her for a while; keep her in my pocket and pull her out on those days when one wonders what poetry can accomplish.

It can be distant and still important. I quite like that.

[Michael Arnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of prose-poems. The structure of each is associative, almost stream-of-conscious, like Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons but a little more (but not much) easy to follow. Waldrop uses a collage technique to convey impressions and thoughts. The book is divided into four sections, each with a discernable theme and form. The first, “Holderlin Hybrids” is made up of twelve subsections of brief prose-poem meditations on perception and memory. The title section is named for the neurological phenomenon of blindsight in which we can ‘see’ more than we can technically observe. This seems to be a metaphor for Waldrop’s technique, in which nothing is treated or ‘observed’ directly, but still seen, felt, intuited, through suggestion and impression.

[Kristen Ringman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing prose poems!!! ohhhhh beautiful!

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 5 out of 5]

When down the stairs. And think "I'll make tea" or "Why is our happiness steeped in longing?" As if they were the same. A little darker then. So isolated in the mind a human figure. Sail boat. Elephant.—In Early November

Even as I let wander my thoughts. The way blood cells circulate to any part of the body. Or birds keep hopping. From branch to branch. Which makes them hard to keep track of. Unless I have words that don't fall. Between the tracks.—Unaccountable Lapses